


After the Printer Incident

by imaginary_golux



Series: October Ficlet Challenge [57]
Category: Aladdin (1992), Mulan (1998)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, Flirting, Humor, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 11:39:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12556592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginary_golux/pseuds/imaginary_golux
Summary: Prompt 29: Office UST leading to threesomeJasmine has really ridiculously attractive co-workers. It's quite unfair.Prompt and beta by my Best Beloved, Turn_of_the_Sonic_Screw.





	After the Printer Incident

Jasmine drops the completed form into her out-tray and gives herself permission to take a moment’s break. This has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it’s about the right time for the charming young office assistant to come around and collect everything in the out-tray, nor the fact that Mulan and Shang are having _another_ argument in front of the copier. So Mulan’s really lovely when she’s angry, like a forest fire as seen from a distance - that’s hardly _Jasmine’s_ fault. And Shang should know better than to insinuate that Mulan can’t fix the copier just because she’s female. Really the tongue-lashing he’s getting is only fair.

Aladdin slips into Jasmine’s office with a bright smile. “Here to steal your paperwork,” he announces, and Jasmine pushes her out-tray towards him with an answering smile.

“Oh, no, however will I survive,” she says, and Aladdin laughs, a bright cheerful sound. “How’s your little brother doing?”

“Pretty well; he’s got over that cold, and he’s working on some sort of mysterious school project he won’t tell me about,” Aladdin says. Jasmine’s met his little brother Abu, when Aladdin had to bring the kid in on school holidays when he couldn’t take off work. Abu is a very clever little thing, curious about everything, and still young enough to make mischief without thinking about the consequences, but Jasmine is fond of him nonetheless. He reminds her of some of her favorite little cousins.

And the way Aladdin cares for him so deeply and devoutly makes something warm bloom in Jasmine’s chest. She’s never mentioned it to him - hitting on the office assistant is rude and inappropriate - but he’s such a sweetheart under that cocky act, and she rather likes it.

“Good to hear,” she says, and opens her pencil drawer, pulling out a couple of her secret stash of candies. “Here, one for him, one for you.”

“You’re the best, Jasmine,” Aladdin says cheerfully, popping one of the sweets in his mouth and pocketing the other, then scooping her paperwork out of the out-tray. “Think I can get past Mulan without her taking my head off?” Mulan, Jasmine sees when she glances over, has the old toner cartridge in one hand, swinging it in little arcs down by her leg, and eyeing Shang like she wants to smash it over his head.

“Maybe go the other way around,” Jasmine suggests. “One of these days Shang is going to realize that trying to do things for Mulan is really not working as a flirting technique, right?”

“I dunno,” Aladdin says. “I figured he’d catch on after the Printer Incident.”

Jasmine winces. Oh god, the Printer Incident. “I had almost managed to block that out of my mind,” she says.

“Sorry,” Aladdin says, grinning. Behind him, Mulan and Shang part, eyeing each other like wary cats. “Right, I’m on my way before they start up again.”

“Good luck,” Jasmine says solemnly, and Aladdin gives her a little bow and a wink before hurrying past the copier on his way to his desk.

*

Jasmine and Mulan have lunch together every Wednesday, which gets them out of the office during Jafar’s regular mid-week spat with Shan Yu over in Logistics. (Jasmine doesn’t like to think about _why_ the two of them have spats so regularly that she could set her watch by it. Some things are not meant for her to know.) The vegetarian cafe half a block from the office does a really good beet-and-goat-cheese-and-candied-walnut salad, which Jasmine has been craving for days, and has a nice hearty veggie-and-pesto pizza that Mulan likes, so this week Jasmine settles into one of the cafe’s battered old chairs with a sigh.

“I swear I’m going to lose my temper and kick Shang where it hurts one of these days,” Mulan says wearily.

“What was it this time?” Jasmine asks. “The copier again?”

“The _paper cutter_ ,” Mulan snarls.

Jasmine puts a hand over her face. “He didn’t.”

“He _did_ ,” Mulan says. “Fuck, I don’t want to talk about him anymore. I mean, yeah, I thought he was cute as hell when I first got hired, but -”

“Then he opened his mouth and stuck his big foot right into it,” Jasmine sighs. “You realize he’s flirting, right?”

“I realize he’s _trying_ to flirt,” Mulan says grimly. “Asshole.” She shakes her head and musters a grin. “So speaking of flirting, you have noticed that Aladdin makes eyes at you every time he sees you, right?”

“He does?” Jasmine asks, startled. “I thought he was like that with everyone.”

“Nah, he’s a charmer with everyone but he’s only that sweet with you,” Mulan says, smirking. “I think he’s scared of me.”

“Darling, you do sword-drills in your office every morning,” Jasmine points out.

“It’s a bamboo sword,” Mulan protests. “It wouldn’t even leave bruises!”

“Sword drills,” Jasmine says flatly. They’re beautiful, actually, and she tries to get in early to watch them every chance she gets. Mulan is clearly _good_ at her chosen sport, and she’s utterly gorgeous with a sword in her hand and an expression of fierce concentration on her face. If Jasmine was the swooning type, she’d be quite tempted to swoon every time she sees it.

Mulan sticks her tongue out at Jasmine. “You’re trying to distract me,” she says. “So about Aladdin’s thing for you…?”

“Hitting on the assistant is an asshole move,” Jasmine says firmly. “If he asks _me_ out, maybe.”

“...Fair point,” Mulan admits. “So about that project Jafar gave you this morning…”

*

“So, did you hear the news?” Aladdin murmurs, sitting down on the corner of Jasmine’s desk and grinning at her rakishly.

“What news?” Jasmine replies, putting down her pen and grinning back. “Is it good?”

“Shang’s been transferred to Logistics,” Aladdin says. Jasmine’s jaw drops.

“Oh god, he and Shan Yu are going to _kill_ each other,” she says.

“I think that’s the point,” Aladdin agrees. “Jafar was looking _particularly_ pleased with himself.”

“I swear I can’t tell if they’re flirting or really hate each other,” Jasmine says thoughtfully.

“Eh, some of column A, some of column B,” Aladdin says, shrugging. “I don’t pretend to understand it.”

“Sensible,” Jasmine says, and then Mulan comes hurrying in, eyes wide.

“Shang’s being _transferred_ ,” she hisses. “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry!”

“Why cry?” Jasmine asks.

“I mean, it’s not really his fault he’s a jerk, and I feel kind of guilty about being so happy,” Mulan admits, shrugging. “But - holy shit, no one’s going to mansplain copiers to me ever again!”

“I could try if you like,” Aladdin offers, grinning. “You push the big green button, see…”

Mulan cuffs him very gently across the back of the head, barely even ruffling his hair. “If _you_ wanted to flirt with me, you’d do it better,” she says. Jasmine giggles despite herself.

“Damn straight,” Aladdin says. “I’d bring you throwing knives.”

“That would be a very good start,” Mulan agrees, and then, slyly, “What would you bring Jasmine?”

“...A plush tiger,” Aladdin admits, blushing.

Jasmine blinks. “Why a tiger?”

“Your lock screen is a tiger, and you’ve got a little jade one on your keychain,” Aladdin says sheepishly. “I figure you must like them, and it’d be something a little different than ordinary flowers and chocolates. Not that I’ve put way too much thought into this or anything.”

“Huh,” Jasmine says thoughtfully. “It’s not Wednesday, but - want to come to lunch with us? This conversation should probably be had _out_ of the office.”

“I’d like that,” Aladdin says.

“There’s a reason you always end up as project lead,” Mulan says, grinning. “You’ve always got the best ideas.”

**Author's Note:**

> So Best Beloved and I are doing an October ficlet challenge. We each generated a list of pairings we'd be willing to write and a list of prompts we wanted the other person to write, and then traded prompts lists without knowing what the other person's pairing lists were. We'll be doing a ficlet each every day in October. Should be fun!
> 
> I am, as ever, imaginarygolux on tumblr.


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